The Fed Blog

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Education and Employment

Employment among adults with college degrees increased 720,000 over the past 12 months to 44.9 million. Over this same period, total household employment increased 242,000. Employment among adults with some college experience has increased by only 58,000 over the past year.

The labor force among adults with only a high school diploma declined by 460,000 over the past 12 months as their employment dropped by 164,000. The labor force is dropping even faster among adult workers with less than a high school degree. It fell 654,000 over the past 12 months. Over the same period, their employment is down 580,000.

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The unemployment rate for adult workers with a BA and higher degrees was only 4.4% in June, unchanged from a year ago and well below the national average of 9.2%. At the start of 2009, their unemployment rate was as low as 3.9%. It has been relatively stable just above this low rate since then. The unemployment rate for adults with some college or an associates degree was 8.4% in June. That’s about the same as a year ago, but up from a recent low of 7.4% in March.

The unemployment rate has remained stubbornly high for adults with only a high school education. It was 10.0% in June, only slightly below 10.7% a year ago. Adults without a high school degree are dropping out of the labor force faster than any other group, as their jobless rate remains over 14%.

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ABOUT: Dr. Ed Yardeni is the President and Chief Investment Strategist of Yardeni Research, Inc., a provider of independent investment strategy and economics research. This blog highlights excerpts from our research service, which is designed for investment and business professionals.